NEW 'DIY CHRISTMAS' Video

As Christmas draws ever closer, a leading Christian Bishop has called on society not to forget the true message of the season. This call comes as a nationwide Christmas campaign called ‘Shine Your Light’ starts next weekend (16th and 17th December) in hundreds of towns, villages and cities.

Shine Your Light will see hundreds of thousands unite in communities across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic in a range of outdoor events. So far, over 42,000 Christians representing over 360 churches have signed up to take part in Shine Your Light, which makes this the largest Christmas outreach on behalf of the UK church. 

A new advert has also been launched this week so that members of the public can join many of these Shine Your Light events through an online map.   

These events will take place around town halls, high streets and shopping centres as well as many other public places.

Registrations have come in from all over the United Kingdom. Among those taking part include hundreds of flashmob style carol events, open air Christingle services and nativity events from the small to the large including some in Castles, country parks and housing estates.

All of these events are solely focused on enabling the true message of Christmas to be heard by those outside the church. While it is acknowledged, church attendance increases during the Christmas season, there will be many who will not darken the door of a church. Reaching across to these un-churched communities is at the heart of Shine Your Light. 

Calling on a renewal of the Christmas message for our communities, Bishop Mike Royal, General Secretary of Churches Together in England said:

It’s been exciting to observe how ‘Shine Your Light’ has grown in just a matter of months to see the Christian Church sharing with their communities, the real message of Christmas.

This of course embodies the values of Churches Together in England, which helps the 54 member denominations across England to work together in unity.

A recent statistic, suggested that while 80% of Brits celebrate Christmas, only 18% know the real reason for the Season. 

At Christmas time, many people find themselves spending money they don’t have on stuff they don’t need. I would suggest more precious is the message of God’s gift to the world in the person of Jesus Christ. The church is here to share that message.

So I want to encourage the church to be bold in cheerfully sharing the message of “Joy to the World” as we all Shine our Lights in our communities everywhere.

Dr Jonathan Oloyede, Convenor of the National Day of Prayer and Worship added:

This year, seeing Christians coming together to take the real message to their communities has been so encouraging. It's great to see churches working together as well as on their own. 

My prayer for Shine Your Light is that people will see the church out in their localities over the next few weeks being unashamed about the reason for Christmas, but in a way that encourages people to listen to what is shared and that a warm welcome is given.

To find out about local Shine Your Light events in your community, please visit: www.shineyourlight.org.uk

The vision for Shine Your Light is that the whole church across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic stand united to share the Gospel to the whole of society this Christmas. Every local church and believer is being encouraged to be a Light to shine to brighten up the whole country like a Christmas tree.

Shine Your Light will run on the weekend of Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th December but with an emphasis on community events and activities, including Nativities and family-focused opportunities taking place on Saturday. These events will occur around town halls, high streets, town and shopping centres, and other public places.

CPO are delighted to support and partner with Shine Your Light, including equipping churches with the key resources to fully engage with this movement. CPO will also provide a variety of printed publicity resources to further encourage and support churches to promote their activities.

Register Your Interest

Be kept informed with all things Shine Your Light - please register your details at shineyourlight.org.uk

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